WASHINGTON (April 7, 2010) – Barry Ritholtz, noted financial commentator and author of the acclaimed book, “Bailout Nation: How Greed and Easy Money Corrupted Wall Street and Shook the World Economy,” has been named the keynote speaker for the 2010 Public Policy Conference of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA).

The conference, set for April 13 at the Washington Court Hotel, 525 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., comes as Congress considers the most significant changes in the regulatory structure of financial services in decades.

Ritholtz is Chief Executive Officer and Director of Equity Research at Fusion IQ, an online quantitative research firm. He served previously as Chief Market Strategist for Maxim Group, a New York investment bank, managing over $5 billion in client assets. He also writes “The Big Picture” — a leading financial blog covering investing, trading and macro economics.

Since its publication last summer, Ritholtz’s “Bailout Nation” has earned kudos from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and was named one of the best finance/business books of 2009 by USA Today and Marketplace Radio. In describing “Bailout Nation,” The New York Times wrote: “The author writes with the fury of an insider mortified by the behavior of his heretical peers.”

In addition to the keynote luncheon, this year’s conference features two panel discussions: “Reining in Risk on Wall Street” and “What Regulatory Reform Means to Main Street Investors.”

The first panel brings together experts to offer national and international perspectives on the efforts of the government and private sector to provide systemic safety to achieve liquidity, stability and reliability in a well-functioning financial system. Moderated by Keith Woodwell, Director of the Utah Securities Division, the panel includes: Gary Teran, President and Chief Executive Officer, First Western Advisers; Arthur E. Wilmarth, Jr., Professor of Law, The George Washington University; and Rick Hancox, Executive Director, New Brunswick Securities Commission.

During the second panel, state securities regulators will examine both the House and Senate reform packages with an eye toward determining how investors will benefit from the legislation and what protections are still needed. West Virginia’s Auditor and Commissioner of Securities Glen Gainer will moderate the panel, which includes: Pennsylvania Securities Commissioner Steven Irwin, New Jersey Securities Bureau Chief Marc Minor and Indiana Securities Commissioner Chris Naylor.

On-site registration begins at 11 a.m. and the keynote luncheon follows at 12 p.m. The general session begins at 1:30 p.m. and is scheduled to conclude at 4:15 p.m.

NASAA is the oldest international organization devoted to investor protection. Its membership consists of the securities administrators in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada and Mexico.

For more information:
Bob Webster, Director of Communications
202-737-0900